Rotary’s Wide World of Books

As the Official Commemorative Project of LA 2008 Rotary International Convention, Rotary’s Wide World of Books is the most exciting international book drive benefiting the children of public elementary schools in southern California and southern Nevada.  Rotarians from all over the world will come to LA and we are asking each convention attendee to bring one or more books, which will grow to a Mountain of Books at the LA Convention Center in June 2008.  Following the close of the convention, the books will then be sent out to each District’s County Office of Education.  For us, this would be the Riverside and the San Bernardino Offices of Education.  Reading By Nine, the literacy organization sponsored by the LA Times, will be handling this major task.  Many of our clubs have participated in Reading By Nine programs.

The committee is asking the seven Districts in these regions to accumulate books prior to the convention in order to create the mountain which will be in place when the convention opens.  Traveling Rotarians will add their books to the mountain.  We are being asked to donate new or gently used children’s books (kindergarten through 3rd grade).

Ingo Werk, Chair of the RWWoB Committee for LA2008, has been in communication with Guinness to see if our book drive qualifies for their Book of World Records.  Arrangements have been made to have their judge in LA and our hope is that it will set the world record.  We have just learned that the rule Guinness has established is we cannot collect books more than one week prior to the drive.  This means our Districts and clubs are allowed to gather books together but they cannot be submitted to the Convention until next June.